Card-clothing.



PATENTEDDEC. l, 1903. M. E. SULLIVAN.

CARD CLOTHING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1903.

No MODEL.

Patented December 1, 1903.

PATENT OEEICE.

MICHAEL E. SULLIVAN, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARD-CLOTHING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,974, dated December1, 1 903.

Application filed May 4, 1903. Serial No. 155,478. (No model.) I I Toall whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, MICHAEL E. SULLIvAN, of New Bedford, in the county ofBristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Card-Clothing, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to card-clothing for carding-machines, suchclothing being composed generally of a backing of leather or other likeflexible material and wire teeth inserted in the said backing andprojecting from the outer side thereof.

Vhile leather is the best known material for the backing ofcard-clothing and is in general use for this purpose, its use isattended with certain objections, the principal ones of which are asfollows: First, the nature of leather is such that particles of lint andother matter contained in the material being carded adhere somewhatclosely to the outer surface of the leather backing and obstruct thespaces between the teeth, the adhesion of the said matter to the backingbeing so close that its removal is attended with some difficulty;secondly, the compressible and yielding nature of the leather preventsit from supporting the teeth and causing them to stand out with thedesired degree of firmness and stiffness.

My invention has for its obj ect to overcome and obviate these and otherobjections that exist to the use of card-clothing as heretofore made;and it consists in the improvements which I will now pro seed todescribe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a partial side elevation and a partial longitudinalsection of one of the top flats of a carding-machine, the same beingprovided with card-clothing embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents asection on line 2 2 of Fig. l, together with a dotted-linerepresentation of a brush used for cleaning the card-clothing andremoving lint therefrom. Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of aportion of the veneer, facing, or reinforcing sheet hereinafter referredto.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figuresof the drawings.

In the drawings, a represents the usual backing or base of a sheet ofcard-clothing,

the same being of flexible or compressible material, such as leather.

b o represent the usual Wire teeth, which are inserted, usually in theform of staples, in the backing a, the parts of the wire forming thelegs of the staples projecting from the outer side of the backing andconstituting the teeth, while the necks of the staples lie against theinner side of the backing.

In carrying out my invention I provide a sheet or piece of card-clothingthus constructed or of any construction which includes a flexible baseor backing of relatively vyielding and compressible material, with arelatively hard veneer, facing, or reinforcing sheet c, superimposedupon the outer surface of the backing a and surrounding the bases of theteeth. The said sheet, which for convenience Iwill hereinafter term thefacing, may be made of any relatively hard and dense material which doesnot possess the property of adhering closely to particles of lint, but,on the contrary, presents a hard and relatively smooth surface fromwhich the accumulations of lint may be readily brushed.V The said facingat the same time should be sufficiently rigid or capable of supportingedgewise pressure to enable it to support the teeth and prevent themfrom leaning or tipping from their desired position relative to thebacking. In practice I have found that a suitable material for thefacing c is thin sheet metal, preferably aluminium. The facing c isperforated, as indicated in Eig. 3, so that it receives and closelysurrounds the teeth b. The facing-sheet is preferably made sufficientlythin to enable it to be penetrated by the means used for penetrating thebacking a, so that the backing and facing sheets may be assembled beforethe insertion of the teeth, the teeth being inserted simultaneously inthe backing and facing.

In this embodiment of my invention I have shown the card-clothingapplied to one of the top flats d of a carding-machine, the edges of thefacing c being conned, with the edges of the backing a, by means ofclamping ears or iianges e c, suitably securedto the flat d. The fiathere shown is of the usual construction adapted for connection in anendless chain IOO with a number of other iiats of like construction. InFig. 2 I show by dotted lines por tions of the bristles or brushmaterial of a rotary brush f, which is arranged to act upon the teethofthe chain of flats in the returning` stretch of said chain, the brushremoving the lint and other matter from between the teeth.

I have found that the facing c besides reinforeing` the backing' andsupporting the teeth so that they are not liable to be tipped out ofplaee furnishes a surface which can be very quickly and thoroughlycleaned by the brush f, the hard material of the facing preventing thelint from adhering,` to its outer surface.

It is obvious that my invention is not limited to use in connection witha top flat as here shown and that card-clothing` embodying my inventionmay be used in connection with my earding` mechanism or appliance.

I olaim- Y l. Card-clothing provided with a relatively hard veneer orfacing,` superimposed upon the outer surface of the tooth-holding baseor backing.

2. Card-clothing provided with a thin sheet or layer of relatively hardmaterial perforated to receive the elothing-teeth and superimposed uponthe outer surface of the toothholding base or backing.

3. Card-clothing the backing ortooth-holding base of which is reinforcedto support and stiften the teeth.

4. Card-Clothing the backing or tooth-holding base of which is providedwith a facing of perforated sheet metal covering its outer side andsurrounding the teeth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

MICHAEL E. SULLIVAN.

Vitnesses:

ERNEST W. Woon, GEORGE B. ARNOLD.

